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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28395933">The Morning Shift</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Angst, Gen, Murder Mystery</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:34:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,133</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28395933</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco and Jean work together in a small cafe. They've been friends since they were little. They went to school together, graduated together, experienced heartbreak together, got a job together, share a few shifts and share all their thoughts with each other.</p><p>However, the pair never thought that solving a murder would be something that they'd do together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Bertolt Hoover/Annie Leonhart, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss &amp; Ymir, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A regular Wednesday.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>MARCO BODT:</strong> can u hurry up? im freezing my balls off &gt;:( </p><p>                                                                                                                       <strong>[READ:7:23AM]</strong></p><p> </p><p>A regular Wednesday for Jean. His phone buzzing from the wave of messages Marco sends him because he’s ‘<em>late</em>’. It’s currently 7:23 am, and Jean is just about functioning due to his horrendous sleep pattern that Marco keeps begging him to fix. Which, purely out of spite, he won't. And, by dreadful, it's not that he sleeps at ridiculous hours during the night, staying up till 5 am for the sake of it, but he goes to bed early and stays asleep solidly for hours on end. His phone on DND all through the night, nothing to disturb his awful habit of sleeping at 7 pm because he "had nothing better to do".</p><p>Jean was on his way to work, like usual. He worked most days, and most of his shifts were with his best friend, Marco. They worked in a coffee shop, not a corporate chain one like Starbucks but a small one, it had only opened up a few years ago and even back then, when Jean was still in school, he would visit with Marco and study or just hangout. Hell, Jean had even tried to ask Mikasa on a date to go there (didn't work, of course).  It isn't a unique place- nothing special on the menu and nothing special about the name ('<em>The Cafe</em>'). </p><p>However, Although Jean heavily criticises its artistic choices in decoration and uniform. Yet, Marco has always mentioned that the calm atmosphere has always helped him and has never left him in a negative mood. Marco has always been keen when working there, pleasant and loved by all customers because of his "sweet" nature and innocent eyes. However, Jean knows this facade too well. Too many times, Jean has seen Marco whine and complain about even some of his favourite customers. Even back when they were at school together, Marco would complain about people who Jean would have never suspected. However, Jean shouldn't complain, though, as Marco's sweet facade gets him the most tips out of any of the other employees. </p><p>Jean switches his phones silencing button and puts his phone back into his pocket. No need for the constant buzzing of Bodt if he'll see him in less than a minute.  The only reason Marco was waiting for Jean is that Marco had foolishly lost his keys a week ago, he said he doesn't know how since they were in his pocket last time he checked and has had to wait for someone to open the shop for him because he's too scared to ask their boss for a new set. Strutting around the corner, Jean finally sees the impatient freckled git who's been nagging him all morning.</p><p> </p><p>"G'morning, Marco-"</p><p>"About fucking time, Jean. I've been freezing my ass off for the last 5 minutes. You said yesterday you were gonna get here earlier, what happened with that?" Marco scowled, his arms crossed over his chest. All he wore was a plain black shirt and jeans. No gloves, no hat, no scarf, no coat and not even a jumper.</p><p>"Whoa, Marco. Calm yourself. Jeez, Don't complain about the cold if all your wearing is a skimpy shirt you got off Amazon." He sighs out, watching his breath become a cloud. "And, for the record, I am earlier than yesterday." He smirked, tutting his head and moving his gaze towards the front door as he pulled the key out of his jacket pocket. </p><p>"Jean, one singular minute is hardly early." Marco rolled his eyes, watching as Jean masterfully turned the key, opening the door. </p><p> </p><p>Straight away, both males fell silent. Something felt <em>off.</em> Maybe it was the change of temperature from the frozen outdoors to the warm ambience inside, or perhaps it was the heap of chairs that had fallen on the ground. Jean's first thought was that it was nothing, probably just weren't placed correctly, it's happened before. Mina's not precisely the tallest staff member, so stacking chairs isn't her strong point. There have been mornings when Jean has entered the cafe, and all of the coffee beans had been scattered on the floor behind the jump because she couldn't close the container properly. That's all it probably was. Jean continues towards the light switch behind the jump. </p><p>Marco, on the other hand, felt compelled. Nothing seemed to interest him more than a pile of chairs on the floor. Marco thought it was suspicious, why had they fallen at the back of the seating area, furthest from the windowed shop front? Did something happen to Mina or Thomas? The two shared the evening shift on Tuesdays, so it wouldn't be a stretch that they could've caused the tumble of chairs. A few steps closer and Marco reached for the nearest chair to set it up correctly. Upon grabbing its leg, Marco's field of view catches sight of a shoe, and attached to that shoe was a leg and-</p><p> </p><p>"HOLY SHIT JEAN FUCKING-!" Marco scrambled backwards towards the jump, pointing at the cluster of chairs. "JEAN. FUCKING!! JEAN!" He couldn't seem to get the words out, at all. he couldn't simply say <em>"Jean there's a dead body right there and it might be our coworker." </em></p><p>Jean stared at Marco for a second, before turning his gaze towards the cluster. Something inside him froze up, all he could do was walk closer and hope Marco was overreacting. A few more steps are all it took for Jean to leap back in fear. The sight of longish hair- Mina? No, It was blonde. So it was Thomas? No, Jean knows Thomas doesn't have hair that long or thick. He looks back to the freckled man, shakily raising his hand to symbolise a phone- <em>Call the police, now.</em></p><p>Marco whipped his phone out and walking into the backroom. Distant voices of Marco and the person on the other end of the line echoed through the cafe. Jean didn't want to go near the body; he didn't want to put any evidence anywhere that could put him in the blame- after all, that's a possibility, right? </p><p>The male moved his weight onto his right leg, to get a good view of this body's face. Just in case he had to describe it to Marco if he didn't want to see it. The eyes were open, full of fear-blue like the ocean with thin blonde eyebrows hanging above them. It didn't take Jean long to register this mans face. Jean knew him, and so did Marco. They went to school together, somewhat friends with this person.</p><p>
  <em>It's Armin Arlert. </em>
</p><p>Jean rushes into the backroom to Marco, who had just gotten off the phone with the respondent. </p><p> </p><p>"It's Armin." Jean states, putting a hand on Marco's shoulder to calm himself.</p><p>"What?" </p><p>"The boy we went to school with, the one that wouldn't stop following that Yaeger Bastard."</p><p>"Wait. Arlert? You're joking. Armin would ne-"</p><p>"No, Marco I'm positive it's him." Jean stressed, dropping his other hand onto Marco's adjacent shoulder.</p><p>The boys both take a minute of silence; neither of them knows how to react. It's not necessarily a situation either of them would ever be prepared for. A chill filled the air as Marco visually shuddered. The backdoor swayed slightly, Jean's attention immediately snapping to it.</p><p> </p><p>"Did you open that?" Jean questioned, moving over to it to look at the latch.</p><p>"No, of course not. Jean, I don't even have keys." Marco trembled, his arms crossing over his chest again for warmth. "I thought you opened it earlier."</p><p>"I didn't even come back here, I've been in the front since we got in." He examines the bolt- no sign of it being forced open. No splinters, no cracks and no loose screws. "Door must have been left open last night. Thomas probably forgot." </p><p>Marco kept fiddling with the fabric of his shirt, nervousness taking over. He was confused; he didn't know why it would be goody-two-shoes Armin or why it would occur in <em>The Cafe</em> of all places. Being so lost in thought, Marco never noticed Jean come up behind him and place his jacket on Marco. They exchanged no words, but Jean knew Marco needed him more than ever right now.</p><p>The pair kept close together in the backroom, as sirens edged closer to <em>The Cafe.</em></p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p> </p>
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</blockquote><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Next Day.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The next day is a regular workday, despite the homicide discovered the day before. However, Jean finds his way into a scuffle and Mina and Marco serve the tea.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hearing the beeps of his alarm, Jean rolled onto his side, reaching for his phone to turn it off. 6:50 AM. Jean felt the weight of his tiredness throughout his entire body; he felt like he had such a bizarre dream.</p>
<p>A dream about going to work on a dismal winter morning, meeting Marco (who still didn't dare to ask their boss for another set of keys) and opening the shop to find collapsed chairs and, somehow, the dead body of their old school friend- Armin Arlert. </p>
<p>Except it wasn't a dream, as Jean saw the News notification on his home screen- <em>"Marine Biologist Student, 21, found dead in local Cafe.</em>" Jean hoped that he was still asleep, but alas, he kept reading the article and thinking about yesterday. The report stated how, despite the cafe being shut for the day of investigation, it would open the very next day directly after as the owner (Hange Zoe, ex-forensic scientist and entrepreneur) quotes that '<em>A murderer will always return to the crime scene, especially with coffee and muffins this good!'</em>. Jean remembered the call he exchanged with his boss last night, who informed him that they would be back to work the next day because they believed the case to be <em>'Utterly pointless, no evidence was found, and it's already been twelve hours! There's no use following it up from their end.'</em></p>
<p>As much as Jean hates to admit it, even from the side of the police and detectives involved, it looks impossible. The afternoon of the discovery of Armin's body, whilst Jean was at Marco's, he had gotten a text from Connie Springer, a close friend since the beginning of his school days- the only other person he could consider close to him other than Marco and his own mother. Connie works under his dad in the local police department, working in the homicide department. </p>
<p><strong>CONNIE SPRINGER: </strong>just left ur cafe, as much as i want justice for Armin for letting me copy his homework all those years, looks pretty hard. ill keep u updated tho bro. stay safe. <strong>[ READ 3:07 PM]</strong></p>
<p>Roughly twenty-five minutes later, Jean's out the door, scoffing an energy bar down his throat as he heads to work. Not long after, his phone is buzzing from the spamming of an impatient Bodt. He readjusts the bag on his back, which holds his portable charger, extra gloves, an extra scarf, wallet, and water bottle. Moments later it hits 7:20 AM, and before he even knows it, he's unlocking the door with a nervous Marco behind him and preparing himself to find another body, which he doesn't see, luckily.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The day goes extremely slow, with more than the usual number of customers- slightly too many for Jean and Marco to handle independently. Marco was able to get a moment's peace to call Mina, who is being questioned at the local police station, and that she and Thomas will come to the cafe to help straight after. Other than that, Marco and Jean were running back and forth from the espresso machine, both hands full of order, to give to customers. Honestly, the customers weren't bothered by the quality of their beverages and sweet confectionaries. They wanted the gossip. More than once, a customer would tug on one of the males' sleeves and offer a tip for a little bit of useless information. To Marco and Jean, there was no point in giving any information, because all they knew and experienced was already reported and written in various articles. However, they do know one thing that the general public doesn't- the cause of death. </p>
<p>According to Connie, Armin Arlert's official cause of death is strangulation. At first, this seemed impossible because <em>The Cafe's</em> ceilingwas smooth, with no possible way to attach anything noose-like to it. Yet Connie suggests that Armin was not strangled by the ceiling, nor with any use of hands. Probably a cloth of some sort, not a rope because there were no rope-like marks on his neck.  </p>
<p>Roughly around noon was the next time anything of interest happened. The door was swung open, by a familiar face that Jean and Marco knew all too well.</p>
<p>"Kirschtien, why the FUCK was Armin here last night?" He steamed ahead, directly for the mentioned man. It was Eren Yaeger. Eren has always been standoffish with Jean because of their competitive natures, neither ever liking the other but nearer the end of their school years they became somewhat mutuals. </p>
<p>"I'd like to know that too, you fucking maniac, why weren't you with him? He never left you at ALL when we were at school." Jean bit back, putting a mug on the counter after cleaning it. Marco would've got involved, but he was in the backroom, organising different coffee beans that had just been delivered to them. </p>
<p>"What you trying to say, horse-face?" Eren was now a foot away from Jean, both males staring at each other- an intense atmosphere engulfed the room. All of the customers had suddenly gotten relatively quiet; only whispers could be heard as all the eyes on the room were now on Jean and Eren.</p>
<p>"Why is it, on the night of his death, you weren't there for him, huh?" Jean had said it, and Eren wasn't going to be blamed for the murder of his best friend. Yaeger had grabbed Jean by his shirt and thrown him to the floor, both males going into a full-on brawl in the middle of a full shop. </p>
<p>"You absolute asshole, Jean!" Eren snarled. "How fucking dare you! How fucking dare you try and blame me!" Somehow, Eren had tears dripping from his eyes as he screamed at Jean, who avoided Eren's fists and attempted to kick him.</p>
<p>Moments later, while the scuffle was going on, Marco had heard the commotion. He bolted out of the backroom and straight into the brawl. He couldn't do much- he tried to pull them apart. Ultimately, there was no way Marco could physically separate them and- he was quite sure they didn't even notice his meek attempts. Trying his hardest, Marco had turned his attention to the customers, who looked enthralled by the entertainment they were getting. With Marcos back turned away from the cafe's door, he didn't notice someone barge in and immediately separate the fight.</p>
<p>Noticing the sudden silence, he turned around and finally acknowledged the third party- Asian heritage, absolutely stunning, and remarkably strong. Mikasa Ackerman- loyal only to her adoptive brother, Eren. Proof of this is the scarf that has never left her neck in all the time that they've known each other. Jean had gotten back up to his feet and only watched Eren as he held onto Mikasa, who had her arm around him. </p>
<p>"Hey, Marco. Jean." Mikasa nodded a greeting to the both of them, as she comforted Eren on the floor of a rather busy cafe- as if she was used to all the attention that Eren would bring. Marco only waved back in shock, as memories filled his mind of all the times that Jean and Eren would fight in school and how she was the only one ever to be able to break them up. This is partly because both of them having a soft spot for her. Marco always admired how she was usually liked by everyone she ever met with little to no dialogue spoken. </p>
<p>"Thanks, Mikasa." Marco moved his eye line to Jean, Marco finally blurted out who seemed somewhat embarrassed with the whole ordeal, especially now that Mikasa had to see it. He had always been embarrassed after fights with Eren when Mikasa broke them up- He never wanted to look like an idiot in front of her. School crushes aside; Jean also admired how Mikasa was able to have such a strong presence when she walks into a room, mostly if Eren's there- he always thought it was moderately weird that they were inseparable at school, they lived together, wasn't that enough?</p>
<p>"Jean..." Eren started, getting up on his feet with the help of his sister, "I'm going to prove that you murdered Armin. There couldn't have possibly been any other person who would've had a motive-"</p>
<p>"Then what the fuck was my motive?" Jean piped up, ready to throw another blow before Marco put his arm out in front of him.</p>
<p>"I haven't figured that out yet, asshole!" He started, his voice growing louder, "But I wouldn't be surprised if it had anything to do with Mar-Hey!" </p>
<p>"That's enough, Eren." Mikasa sighed, "He doesn't mean that. He's grieving. We all are." She turned her gaze from Marco and Jean and to her brother. She waved her hand at them both, before leaving and practically dragging Eren out with her.</p>
<p>Marco had commanded that Jean stay in the backroom and organise the new stock, taking it all upon himself to please the customers. Luckily for him, it didn't take much longer for Mina and Thomas to be done with the police station finally. Marco had told them both about the fight and why most of the customers were here (both of them gathered that business would boom because of recent events).</p>
<p>"So what did they ask you about?" Marco queried Mina when they were both by the heavy machinery, brewing their respective orders.</p>
<p>"Nothing that worried me. They just asked if I remembered closing the back door- which I did- because Thomas reminded me to." She answered, "I wish this isn't as bad as Connie says it is- Armin was our friend after all, and I hope he's resting easy." She pulled out another cup and saucer to place under the espresso brewer. "They also asked if I knew if I could name anyone they think could do such a thing- I couldn't."</p>
<p>"They asked Jean and me that too, yesterday." Marco recalled, "It's difficult, isn't it? Having to name a friend that could have possibly murdered."</p>
<p>"Did you mention anyone?" Mina asked, about to leave to brewing stands.</p>
<p>"No, I wish I could think of someone who disliked Armin- but, that's rather hard- everyone liked the guy, and he liked everyone."</p>
<p>"Didn't he have a thing for Annie Leonhardt?" She replied, reaching down into the display for a croissant.</p>
<p>"Well, yeah, but I don't think she thought much of it." Marco sighed, watching as Mina finally went to serve.</p>
<p> </p>
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